5 bad habits to save your life

Oct 13 2011, Written by Michael Lee in News, 0 Comments

There could be some unexpected health benefits to five bad habits, according to a recent article published by humor website Cracked.

The habitual consumption of caffeine, for example, coincides with a decrease in ADD behavioral symptoms, according to the article. It cites a 1985 study performed by Calgary General Hospital, which states that caffeine—be it in coffee or Red Bull form—affects ADD behaviors in a way “resembling more widely prescribed stimulant medications.” Essentially, developing a caffeine habit (or addiction) might be responsible for eliminating scatterbrained behaviors from childhood.

“Caffeine definitely improves my concentration,” said freshman Le Qi. “It might make me a little jittery, but I feel like I need it in the morning. It helps me stay focused in class. But there come a point when if you don’t have caffeine you might get tired or unfocused. It’s all about the human mentality.”

Other unexpected habits demonstrated positive health effects, though they are unlikely to benefit the typical Duke student for the time being.

Smoking, vaporizing or eating one controversial plant—marijuana—might have some unexpected health benefits. Other than its well-known medical use for cancer patients, cannabis may also benefit the brain—but only if you’re over thirty. Citing a two year-old study performed at Trinity College in Dublin, the article proposes that THC, the organic particle responsible for the reality-bending properties of the plant, might stimulate the growth of neurons in elderly brains and have preventive effects for Alzheimer’s disease. On the other hand, the article noted that indulging in cannabis before the brain is fully matured still has unknown and potentially harmful effects on neural chemistry.

“I don’t think I’d make a decision to use it off of one study,” said freshman Will Broughton. “But if there were more studies done to corroborate this particular article, then I would probably consider using it in the future [to prevent Alzheimer’s].”

Others were less open to the possibility of using cannabis for its potential benefits.

“I probably wouldn’t use it,” said freshman Joseph Wu. “I don’t think the correlation in the study would be high enough [to prompt me to use it], and Alzheimer’s isn’t common enough in the population to justify its use. And I probably wouldn’t like feeling high and lazy and stupid.”

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder might be treated with a form of video games—though not the Halo 3 variety. According to a study conducted by the Department of Defense, “virtual reality exposure therapy” was effective in psychologically-treating affected veterans. VRET involves the use of a head-mounted display that simulates sounds and sights from the battlefield, used to gradually expose veterans to distressing memories. But while VRET might have some practical benefits, playing FIFA while eating Jimmy Johns probably doesn’t.

The article also states that other psychotropic drugs, like LSD and hallucinogenic mushrooms, may benefit the elderly. When administered to elderly patients with terminal diseases, the drugs were reported to reduce anxiety of death and improve behavior in a clinical study on LSD performed at the Santa Cruz Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

“I wouldn’t want to be in a different state of mind when I was dying,” Broughton said. “I would want to have my mind when I was dying so I could think clearly.”

Wu was also unwilling to use LSD or hallucinogenic mushrooms at the end of his life.

“I probably wouldn’t use this substance on my deathbed,” he said. “At that point, I’ll probably have accepted death and I’ll be okay with it.”

The article also states that Botox could potentially have surprising benefits on one’s psychology.

Theoretically, by discouraging frowning or furrowing brows, facial Botox injections would indirectly liven up one’s mood. A small clinical trial performed in 2006 on ten depressed patients showed that two months after Botox injections, nine out of ten were no longer depressed. Apparently, by being physically incapable of demonstrating negative emotion, it ceases psychologically as well. Due to the small sample size of the trial, more experimentation should probably be conducted to confirm this phenomenon. But in any case, it’s unlikely that the average Duke student will be injecting his or her face with Botox any time soon.